As more and more information starts slipping out about Metal
Gear Solid V, Kojima has made a few comments that have raised the metaphorical
eyebrow. On his Twitter last week, the master of all things MGS has stated that he has
been asking his art team to make the characters “more erotic,” to which he
later amended as “sexy.” The idea was to help boost sales of figurines and
encourage more people to cosplay to, again, help with the sales of products.

While I agree with some of the comments that this is another
example of misogyny in the gaming industry, the character of Quiet who doesn’t
speak in the game and uses body language in a very skimpy bikini top is blatantly
calling her out as only eye candy, I also understand Kojima’s position. I know,
the feminist in me gets what Kojima is doing. But seriously, sex is a selling
point. And if showing off a bit more skin can help sell a game, then why not do
it? Is it cheap and anything but classy? Of course. And with the world that MGS
has built, it does seem odd that they would go for this type of blatant
sexuality. (I realize that Eva also had a bikini top model going on, but at
least they fully covered her chest AND she wore a combat suit over it. There’s
a difference between sexuality from the natural charm of the character versus obvious
boob exposure for the sake of showing them.)

Kojima did respond to the Tweets and the critics with a
series of notes about why he made these “design” choices for the game. Quiet was created as an antithesis of the other female characters, and that she
is so exposed for a reason. Apparently whatever the reason, we’re all going to
feel ashamed for how she looks. Interesting...

He breaks off further in the response to mention the themes
of MGSV: Gene -> Meme -> Scene -> Peace -> Race. And the
controversy around Quiet represents what the game is trying to achieve, a story
that touches upon the misunderstanding of prejudice, hatred, and conflicts
caused by differences in race, religion, creed, etc. Okay, we’ll go with that.

I think the problem people have with this entire issue is
that Kojima has been vocal about why he made Quiet sexy and what he’s trying to
do: make money. Most companies don’t outright say what their intentions are. We
know they make products for money. It’s obvious. That’s how our entire economy
works. We very rarely hear a company come out and be blunt about it. “Yep. We’re
trying to make money. Here’s how.” So at least you have to commend the honesty,
no matter how much I may disagree with it. All I have to say is that the plot
device of Quiet’s sexuality better be really damn good. And I don’t think many
will cosplay her without some modesty changes to the top. Most cons would not
permit that type of skin exposure.

I should probably end this article with that I still heart
Kojima and would fan-girl over him on sight. I’m an MGS type of gamer. What of
it?